In the presence of the filmmaker Walid Fellah (Tunisia) and the activist Trésor (Cameroon)

Free of charge

“Boza” is a word meaning “victory” in the West African language Bambara. “Boza” is also the word used when migrants from sub-Saharan countries manage, after diffi cult attempts – often lasting years and frequently in vain – to fi nally cross the militarily secured European border. Many try to cross near the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which formally belong to the EU despite being geographically located on the Moroccan coast of the Mediterranean. Thousands of migrants live hidden in the wooded areas around the two Spanish port towns, in the hope of being able to somehow, sometime cross the barbed wire NATO fences that mark the fortifi cation wall.Many are severely injured or killed in the attempts at crossing, as Cameroonian Trésor can attest, since he himselve arrived in Europe through this route. The Tunisian fi lmmaker Walid Fellah accompanied him and others on their clandestine journeys. He also took part in the “March for Freedom” from Strasbourg to Brussels with 400 activists in summer 2014 to demonstrate “against the racist EU border policies”.

Walid Fellah was born in the southern Tunisian city of Zarzis and studied architecture in Tunisia. At university he was a member of the student union “Union générale des étudiants tunisiens” and of the Tunisian amateur filmmakers’ association (FTCA). Along with other young film enthusiasts, he organised a short film festival in his hometown called the “Journées cinématographiques du court-métrage“. After protests against the Ben Ali dictatorship began in 2011, he also began to film his own documentary about young Tunisians opting to leave the country and head to Italy for an unknown future.In June 2014, Walid Fellah took part in the “Freedom March to Brussels” from Strasbourg, along with 400 activists, who demonstrated “against racist immigration and border policies of the EU”. Footage of this protest is also included in his film BOZA, which begins on the militarily secured EU external border. The film is to be screened following the festival at a special event in Cologne on 30 September.

Trésor hail from Cameroon. He managed to cross over into Europe, after arduous journeys, by way of the Spanish enclave Melilla on the northern Moroccan coast. Trésor witnessed how others had to pay with their lives when trying to cross the barbed wire-covered NATO border fence around the fortresslike Melilla. The film BOZA, which will be screened in a special event at festival’s end with Trésor in attendance, documents the arduous journeys of countless clandestine migrants to Europe.Trésor was born in 1980 in Edea and has been living as an illegal immigrant in Europe since 2004. He has been featured in numerous documentaries as a witness to contemporary history, and he has set up a Facebook page and a website on the subject (www.voixdesmigrants.com). Since his arrival in Europe, he has been involved in efforts for the rights of migrants, such as the June 2014 “Freedom March to Brussels”, in which numerous activists marched from Strasbourg and through Schengen to Brussels.